Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley has raised concerns about plans to put more pokies in pubs in Alice Springs

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Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley has raised concerns about plans to put more pokies in pubs in Alice Springs · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's get into it because joining me on the line
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: right now is Robin Lamley, the member for Oura Lun.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Robin.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Yes, I agree with you. There is
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: no such thing as a coincidence in pologic. That's one
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: of my favorite catchphrases.
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  Speaker 1: Isn't it true? And Robin, what are your thoughts on
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  Speaker 1: this ten million dollars that was announced yesterday for the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: parapp Preschool. As I said just a moment ago, I
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: really don't you know. I don't live in parap Or
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  Speaker 1: my kids don't go to that pre school, so I
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  Speaker 1: don't know just how badly this money might be needed.
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  Speaker 1: But the timing of it was certainly interesting, wouldn't you say?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's actually called pork barreling. This is a textbook
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  Speaker 2: example of pork barreling, where governments allocate funding directly to
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: win favor and votes. I mean, I'm sure it's a
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  Speaker 2: fabulous idea. I'm sure the per Rap preschool needs to
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  Speaker 2: be upgraded or given a new facility. There's probably no
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  Speaker 2: question about it. You say, there's no coincidences in politics,
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  Speaker 2: and this is a fine example of pork barreling.
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  Speaker 1: And Robin, they say that the money's obviously come from,
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  Speaker 1: you know, from that infrastructure funding that is that's there
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  Speaker 1: to be utilized on things like this. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: I guess it's like you just sort of think to yourself,
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  Speaker 1: the you know, the timing of it is not coincidental.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think and again I will say, I really
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  Speaker 1: don't know just how badly this money may or may
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  Speaker 1: not be required for the preschool. But you know, but
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  Speaker 1: it is the same day that we're set to announce,
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  Speaker 1: we're set to hear the declaration of candidates for that
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  Speaker 1: by election.
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  Speaker 2: Pretty territories aren't stupid. This is about a government that's
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  Speaker 2: selling money at a lovely new for kenion dollars at
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  Speaker 2: at a lovely new preschool in the middle of the
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  Speaker 2: electorate to Fanny Bay and love behold in two and
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  Speaker 2: a half weeks time we have a by election in
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  Speaker 2: Fanny Bay. I mean, people just ant stupid. They see
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  Speaker 2: it for what it is. It's wrong. It's difficult to
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  Speaker 2: prove in terms of it being corrupt. Cases of pork
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  Speaker 2: barreling have been put to different ikaks around Australia for
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  Speaker 2: years and it's one of those sort of gray areas.
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  Speaker 2: The government can say yes, this was always in the pipeline.
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  Speaker 2: We've been talking about this and planning this for some time.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, it's nothing to do with the Fanny Bay
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  Speaker 2: by election coming up until it a half week's time.
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  Speaker 2: The fact that they had the labor candidates of Faddy
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  Speaker 2: Bay front and center during the press conference would suggest otherwise.
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  Speaker 2: But look, give us a break. It's pork barreling. It's
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  Speaker 2: what governments often do. It's not right. It shows us
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  Speaker 2: an absolute lack of integrity, and yeah, jeez, I think
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  Speaker 2: it should be a consideration when people from Fanny Bay
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  Speaker 2: are going to the poles on the twentieth.
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  Speaker 1: Robin now obviously going to the polls on the twentieth.
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  Speaker 1: The thing that I was quite irked by, I think,
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  Speaker 1: it'd say, to put it politely earlier in the week
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  Speaker 1: is the fact that neither of the major political parties
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  Speaker 1: in this by election are actually running candidates who live
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  Speaker 1: in that electorate. What are your thoughts on.
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  Speaker 2: That, Katie, I've never lived in my electorate.
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  Speaker 1: I think you live nearby, thought.
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  Speaker 2: The consideration, But certainly in a place like Alice Springs
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  Speaker 2: where we all live within a couple of kilometers of
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  Speaker 2: each other, anyway, and boundaries do tend to change. I
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  Speaker 2: don't think it's such a big deal, but you know,
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  Speaker 2: let other people judge that. I guess if you lived
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  Speaker 2: in another town, or you know, you came from into
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  Speaker 2: state and you're running, you know, that's not acceptable. But
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  Speaker 2: I think if you if you live in fairly close proximity,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: my view is that that's that's reasonable. That's life, you know.
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  Speaker 2: And I remember one particular member actually over within the
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  Speaker 2: last ten years, moved into here's electric new electorate because
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: the boundaries changed, and then the boundaries changed back again.
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  Speaker 2: So sometimes you just can't win well.
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  Speaker 1: And I guess that, you know, if the electorate was
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  Speaker 1: right next door or in your case in Allae Springs
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  Speaker 1: a couple of kilometers, but we are talking about you know,
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  Speaker 1: Fanny Bay and then living out in Palmerston. So some
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  Speaker 1: would argue, myself included, you know that you sort of
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  Speaker 1: wonder how they know exactly what the issues are going
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  Speaker 1: to be if they're not a little bit nearer by.
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  Speaker 1: But I do take on board what you're saying.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I guess it's not ideal, but you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think that the COLP candidate went to the parap
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  Speaker 2: school and you know, so he's obviously gotten a great
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  Speaker 2: sort of personal affinity for the for the electorate to
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  Speaker 2: Fanny Bay in that respect. Look, it's up. It's really
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  Speaker 2: up to others to judge what that actually means. But
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  Speaker 2: from my perspective, I think if you leave fairly closer
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  Speaker 2: and you commit to moving into the electorate if you win,
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  Speaker 2: that kind of covers off on it. Really, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: now fair enough, not that far apart. Really, I don't think.
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  Speaker 1: Now Robin just on this by election as well, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: do you think that it's going to be a test
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  Speaker 1: of both leaders of both Natasha Files and her actions
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to crime and that kind of thing.
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  Speaker 1: And indeed the opposition leader Leah fanoki Aro, given the
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  Speaker 1: fact that you know, there was a by election not
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  Speaker 1: too long ago in Daily that everybody sort of thought
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  Speaker 1: the CLP was going to win and they didn't.
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  Speaker 2: I think every election is a test for the leader
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  Speaker 2: and that that may be fair or unfair. The fact
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  Speaker 2: that this is what I would call a blue ribbon
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  Speaker 2: labor seat means that for the CLP to win it
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  Speaker 2: would be quite extraordinary. You're you're asking probably too much,
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  Speaker 2: but it will reflect on Leah. If the doesn't mean
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  Speaker 2: as it will, it will reflect worse on the Tasha
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  Speaker 2: Files if she loses a Blue ribbon, lay the seat
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  Speaker 2: to the CLP or whatever party comes up. Look, it's
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  Speaker 2: always a test for the leader. It's always a very
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  Speaker 2: nervous time. And I think that's why you'll see a
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  Speaker 2: huge amount of activity going on in Fanny Bay over
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  Speaker 2: the next couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I reckon, you're right there. I reckon you're right.
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  Speaker 2: There in Shane already.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Robin, let me actually head beyond the bear of
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  Speaker 1: the line, which is what I got you on the
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  Speaker 1: show to talk about, because I know there's plenty happening
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  Speaker 1: in Alice, And firstly, I just want to ask you
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  Speaker 1: very quickly. We know that there has been well there's
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  Speaker 1: three people who are missing in Central Australia right now.
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  Speaker 1: The trio hasn't been seen since Sunday. They attended a
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  Speaker 1: function in Alice Springs, Bonnie Edwards seventy and her son
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  Speaker 1: and daughter. Has there been much been much sort of
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  Speaker 1: talk about this in Central Australia this morning?
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  Speaker 2: Look, I guess I'm reading this same things that you are.
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  Speaker 2: We get very little media coverage in Alice Springs. But yes,
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  Speaker 2: there is a lot of concern for these people, and
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  Speaker 2: I'm just having it's one of those cases where they've
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  Speaker 2: gone off and done something and haven't told anyone and
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  Speaker 2: they just reappear saying what's going on? Yeah, but you
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  Speaker 2: just don't know. I mean, Central Australia is a big
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  Speaker 2: place where people can disappear very easily. We know that
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  Speaker 2: from many cases over the years. So fingers Christ, these
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  Speaker 2: people just turn up and really don't know what all
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  Speaker 2: the fuss is about.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Now, Robin, another interesting one that I saw
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  Speaker 1: on social media yesterday out of Central Australia. A stolen
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  Speaker 1: antique violin. What's happened here?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the woman was at the woman who owned the
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  Speaker 2: troop carrier that had the violin in at was at
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  Speaker 2: a restaurant along Gap Road and it was stolen. And
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  Speaker 2: oh my god. I listened to an interview that she
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  Speaker 2: did with local media here in Alice Springs yesterday and
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  Speaker 2: I was literally almost in tears. This violin was given
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  Speaker 2: to her by someone's significant It was like a family heirloom,
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  Speaker 2: that connection to some much she loved, you know, just
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  Speaker 2: a very very personal piece of property. And yeah, it
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  Speaker 2: was stolen. The good news is and the trip carrier
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  Speaker 2: was recovered with the violin in it. So Saint Lon
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  Speaker 2: Times there is a good ending. Yeah, a really really
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  Speaker 2: sad bad story.
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  Speaker 1: Well, thank goodness for that, Robin. We also know, well,
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  Speaker 1: certainly we've learned a bit more information in the last
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  Speaker 1: couple of weeks that there is a major hospitality group
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  Speaker 1: which is heavily invested in Central Australia, Iris Capital. They're
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  Speaker 1: seeking to add dozens more gaming machines to venues across
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  Speaker 1: Alice Springs. It is just weeks obviously after buying several
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  Speaker 1: of the town's big hotels and pubs. Robin, what a
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: local saying about the addition of these Pokey's or the
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  Speaker 1: planned edition of these pokeys.
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  Speaker 2: Well, this really is the talk of the town from
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  Speaker 2: my perspective, and it has created a lot of movement.
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  Speaker 2: There was a public meeting the other yes to not
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  Speaker 2: here afternoon in town and apparently one hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 2: people attended. People are really concerned about this. We have
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  Speaker 2: huge social problems in Alice Springs, most of it connected
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  Speaker 2: to alcohol. But they also see that this is a
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  Speaker 2: bad thing. This is a step too far. Having adding
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  Speaker 2: dozens more poker machines to the already very high number
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  Speaker 2: of poker machines we have in Alice Springs. So it
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  Speaker 2: is the decision of the Director of Gaming Machines to
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  Speaker 2: whether as to whether or not iris Capital get all
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  Speaker 2: these additional machines. So hopefully that person is listening to
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  Speaker 2: the public debate and discourse around this. But it is
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  Speaker 2: also a very political decision. I was interested to hear
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  Speaker 2: the Attorney General, Chancey Pack a few weeks ago just
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  Speaker 2: dismiss it when he was asked about it by the media,
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  Speaker 2: just saying it's nothing to do with me and our government.
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  Speaker 2: It's the decision of the Director of Gaming these Well, well.
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  Speaker 1: It's politicians' jobs to listen to what their electorates are saying,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, yes, and I think if you look at the
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  Speaker 2: history of pokem machines across Australia forever, politics has always
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  Speaker 2: played a big part in that. So for him to
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: sort of relinquish any responsibility around it is really a
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  Speaker 2: little bit rich. But it is a political decision, and
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  Speaker 2: my view is that the government really needs to look
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  Speaker 2: at how pokem machines are regulated in the Northern Territory.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: We have a cap of one thousand, six hundred and
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  Speaker 2: ninety nine caps on poker machines that going to pubs
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  Speaker 2: and clubs, but that doesn't include casinos. Casinos don't have
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  Speaker 2: the cap on the number of poker machines in their establishments.
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  Speaker 2: So our two casinos have lots and lots of poker machines,
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  Speaker 2: and indeed our local casino here in our Springs Lassiters
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  Speaker 2: added an additional one hundred and fifty or thereabouts over
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  Speaker 2: the last twelve months since ours Capital took it on.
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  Speaker 2: So we've had an explosion of Pokey's down here, right,
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  Speaker 2: and it is very very concerned.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Well, Robin, it does sound like a discussion that is
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: well worth having. Please keep us up to date with,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: you know, with how that progresses in terms of, you know,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: those poker machines and the fact that they've got to
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: be approved. We always appreciate your time. Thank you very
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with us this morning.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me Katie.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: Hey, you two